Successful automotive vehicle design requires consideration of numerous diverse design objectives. Components comprising the automobile must often meet criteria ranging from strength and durability to style and comfort. Moreover, increased functionality combined with ease of installation is also important vehicle design characteristics.
The prior art teaches an automotive seat that includes a seat cushion, and a backrest pivotally mounted to the seat cushion so that the backrest may be reclined at a selected angle relative to the seat cushion for comfort. To improve seat comfort, a headrest is often defined on the upper portion of the backrest, for example, by supporting a cushion atop the backrest using a pair of posts that are slidably received in complementary guides defined in the upper portion of the backrest frame. In some vehicle seat designs, components are assembled within specified tolerances that can result in some free play (i.e., movement). Free play is known to be particularly prevalent in designs that attach a rear seat to a bracket on the floor of the vehicle. In these situations, small movements of the bracket result in relatively large movements at the top of the vehicle seatback.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved seatback designs with lower amounts of free play at the attachment brackets.